Senior Manager, Continuous Improvement

PCI Pharma Services•San Diego, CA

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Continuous Improvement is a hands-on operational leader responsible for measurable performance improvements across manufacturing and business processes. The role applies process engineering, data-driven problem solving, and Lean methodologies to deliver sustainable improvements in efficiency, quality, cost, and throughput. It works cross-functionally with Operations, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and Maintenance to design, optimize, standardize, and control critical processes. The position serves as a member of the Site Leadership Team and has a dotted-line relationship to the Site Leader. In conjunction with the Global OPEX Director and Site Leader, this role creates and implements the site's Lean vision and Lean Maturity Index to establish an Operational Center of Excellence. The manager leads and coaches improvement projects and teams, develops process controls and standard work, establishes performance measures, and ensures improvements are sustained. The role also develops financial justifications and ROI models, tracks results, and presents performance outcomes to senior leadership.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related field.
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification.
8–10 years of experience in manufacturing, operations, or process engineering.
At least 3 years leading continuous improvement initiatives.
Hands-on experience with process mapping and value stream mapping.
Hands-on experience with root-cause analysis methods, including A3, 5-Why, and Fishbone.
Hands-on experience improving OEE and productivity.
Proven track record of delivering measurable cost savings and efficiency gains.
Experience implementing Lean manufacturing systems.

Nice To Haves

Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt certification.
Experience in high-volume or complex manufacturing environments in the food, aerospace, pharmaceutical, or other GMP industries.
Experience with ERP/MES systems and data visualization tools.
Project management certification; PMP is a plus.

Responsibilities

Create the site's Lean vision with the Global OPEX Director and Site Leader, and implement the Lean Maturity Index to establish an Operational Center of Excellence.
Facilitate and coach A3 projects, cross-functional kaizen events, and multi-practitioner teams.
Lead end-to-end process analysis, mapping, and redesign initiatives.
Identify bottlenecks, constraints, and variability drivers in manufacturing and operational workflows.
Develop and implement process control strategies to reduce waste and improve stability.
Apply statistical analysis and data modeling to validate improvements.
Optimize cycle time, yield, OEE, capacity utilization, and labor efficiency.
Drive creation of standard work and maintain process documentation discipline.
Lead Kaizen events, value stream mapping sessions, and root-cause investigations.
Deploy Lean, Six Sigma, and structured problem-solving methodologies, including DMAIC, PDCA, and A3.
Establish KPIs and dashboards to track improvement initiatives.
Build a continuous improvement roadmap aligned with business objectives.
Mentor and coach supervisors, engineers, and frontline leaders in continuous improvement tools.
Ensure improvements are sustained through governance and audit systems.
Partner with the Site Leadership Team to manage organizational change and increase adoption of process improvements.
Analyze process data to identify trends, variability, and improvement opportunities.
Develop financial justifications and ROI models for improvement initiatives.
Track cost savings, productivity gains, and quality improvements.
Present performance results to senior leadership.